Congressman Mike Rogers made the following statement after the House passed the 2014 Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act which included an amendment that would prohibit sequestration-related furloughs at installations like the Anniston Army Depot for civilian DoD employees paid from the Working Capital Fund Account.

“Yesterday with my strong support, the House passed an important amendment to prohibit the DoD from implementing furloughs at Working Capital Fund facilities like the Anniston Army Depot as well as other installations.

“I continue to believe the current furloughs are ill-advised and will result in increased costs for the taxpayer while damaging our nation’s military readiness. While this bill is not yet law, I call on the Defense Department to follow Congress’ lead and end these wasteful and inefficient furloughs at facilities like the Anniston Army Depot.”

Earlier in the week, Rogers met with Defense Department Comptroller Robert Hale on the furlough issue. He reiterated his belief that the Pentagon is terribly managing its budget and wasting taxpayer dollars in implementing DoD furloughs.

Rogers serves as Chairman of the Strategic Forces subcommittee on the Armed Services Committee and is a senior member of the Homeland Security and Agriculture committees.